Gas-range.



M. J. GREEN.

GAS RANGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23. 1914.

Patent-ed May 25, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO-, PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

MICHAEL J'. GREEN, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ECLIPSE GA$ STOVECOMPANY, OF ROCKFORD, lLLlNols, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GAS-RANGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MIoHAnL J. GREEN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Rockford, in the county ofWinnebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Gas-Ranges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gas ranges adapted for cooking, especially tothose used in hotels, restaurants, and other places where largequantities of food are cooked, and has more particular reference to thattype of gas range having a cooking top and ovens and a single set of gasburners for heating both the cooking top and the ovens. In this tvpe ofgas range the ovens are arranged beneath the cooking top leaving aheating compartment between the said top and ovens, and burners arearranged in the heating compartment extending across one end thereof.The air heated by the burners passes between the cooking top and theovens to the far end of the compartment at which point it is carrieddownwardly and passed under the ovens to a flue outlet. By this meansboththe cooking top and the ovens are heated by a single set of burners.In the use of these gas ranges it is often desirable to heat only thecooking top or a portion thereof, but this could not be done in rangesof this type as they have been heretofore constructed.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a gas range ofthe above character in which the air heated by the burners may be usedto heat either the cooking top and ovens together in the above describedmanner or to heat only the cooking top.

Another object of my invention is to provide a gas range which willrequire a minimum expenditure of gas for the various uses to which therange is put.

A further object of my invention is the provision in a gas rangeembodying ovens and a cooking top, of novel means for heating the ovensand cooking top whereby the cooking top may be heated separately with arelatively small expenditure of gas, and whereby the gas range may beoperated more economically. To do this without the use of special orauxiliary burners for the purpose or using an unnecessary amount of gasin the operation, I have provided means for diverting the heated airfrom its ignated generally by passage below the ovens and confining thecourse of the heated air to the heating compartment immediately belowthe cooking top, whereby only the cooking top will be heated, the frontportion thereof being maintained at the highest temperature. Moreparticularly, I have provided means whereby heated air entering at oneend of the heating compartment may be carried in a path lengthwisethereof below the front portion of the cooking top and then returned ina path below the rear portion of the cooking top and expelled through aflue opening located adjacent the entrance end of said compartment.By'this means the front portion of the cooking top will bemaintained ata high temperature with a minimum expenditure of gas, and since thecourse of the heated air does not lead to the ovens but is returnedalong the back portion of the cooking top, a maximum amount of the heatgenerated is utilized in heating the cooking top, the front portionthereof receiving the greatest amount of heat.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a gas range of theabove described type, means whereby the air may be shunted from itsregular heating course to pass directly to the flue outlet for thepurpose of insuring an easy draft when the range is started inoperation.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent as the inventionbecomes better understood by reference to the following description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2,illustrating a gas range embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view through the gas range taken on the line 22of view-of the back of the gas range at the flue outlet end thereof.

Froman inspection of the drawings illustrating one embodiment of myinvention, it will be observed that the gas range per se is somewhatdiagrammatically shown in that various parts have been omitted, andslight attention paid to the details of construction except to thoserelating to the imrovements pertaining to this invention.

The body or outer casing of the range desthe reference character Fig. 1;and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary 4B, is rectangular in form, open at its top,

the casing 4. In the drawing two ovens are shown, but it is obvious thatthe oven space may be subdivided in any desirable manner. The ovens areso arranged within the casing that they form with said casing and thecooking top 5 a continuous conduit 7 extending above, below, and at thesides of lighting the same.

7 any suitable construction.

the ovens, the continuity of the conduit being broken by the partition7.

The conduit located intermediate the top of the ovens and the cookingtop and designated generally by the reference character 8 forms theheating compartment in which gas burners are positioned and the heat isgenerated. A plurality of gas burners 11 arranged at one end of theheating compartment 8 extend across said end so that a flame coveringthe entire width of the compartment may be directed thereinto. Theburners may be of any suitable construction and so connected that theentire set of burners need not be operated simultaneously, since it isdesirable at times to utilize only the burners at one side of thecompartment. The means for controlling the burners are not shown sincesuch means are well known in the art and may be of A pilot burner 12 ispositioned adjacent the burners 11 for A flue outlet 13 leads from theoven heating compartment at a point directly below the partition 7.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that when all the burners are inoperation, a sheet of flame will be directed into the compartment 8throughout the entire width thereof, and that the natural draft from thechimney through the flue outlet 13 will draw the air heated by theburners over the top of the ovens to the far end of the heatingcompartment, down the conduit 14, and under the ovens to the flue outlet13.- Thus both the cooking top and the ovens are heated by one set ofburners, the cooking top being heated throughout its entire width withthe hottest portion thereof in the immediate range of the flame; andunder such use the gas range may be said to be in full-capacityoperation.

The ovens are spaced apart to provide a vertical conduit between theopposed ends thereof as shown in Fig. 2 and communication through thisconduit between the heating compartment 8 and the conduit below theovens is controlled by a damper 15 which may be operated from the frontof the range. I11 the drawings the damper is shown closed, but bydrawing the slidable member of the damper forwardly, heated air from thecompartment 8 may pass downwardly through the vertical conduit to theconduit below the ovens thereby heating the ovens to a higher degree oftemperature.

There are times, however, in the use of gas ranges of the abovedescribed type, when it is neither necessary to use the ovens nor tomaintain the'entire cooking top at a high temperature throughout itsentire width. It is obvious that the expenditure of gas in the abovedescribed operation of the range would be very much out of proportion toheat required for heating only the cooking top and that the range, wouldbe ineflicient in its operation for this purpose. To make the rangeeflicient for all the uses to which it is put, I have provided means forcontrolling the heated air ina novel manner, which will now bedescribed.

The heating compartment 8 is subdivided into front and back compartments10 and 20 respectively, by a partition which extends lengthwise of theheating compartment intermediate the sides thereof. This partition inthe form of a vertical wall 16 extends from a point 17 in the heatingcompartment spaced from the inside of the con duit 14, to the point 18.This wall is shown as formed of a plurality of fire-brick sections, butmay be of any suitable construction. It will be noted that the wall 16forms no obstruction to passage of air laterally of the heatingcompartment 8 at each end thereof. A closure or gate 19 pivotallymounted at 21 on the back wall of the heating compartment 8 adjacent theburner end thereof is adapted to form a partition between the burnerportion of the heating compartment 8 and the end of the compartment 20adjacent thereto. The back compartment 20 is provided with a flue outlet22 adjacent the gate 19 at the side opposite the burners, the said fluebeing connected through a conduit 23 at the back of the range with theflue outlet 13. The gate 19 is so arranged that when in open position,as shown in full lines in the drawings, it will partition the burnerportion of the heating compartment from the outlet end of the backcompartment 20, and when swung to the position indicated in dotted linesit will close the flue outlet 22 and establish communication between thesaid burner portion of the compartment and the back compartment 20. Anoperating member 24 [attached to the gate 19 extends to the outer sideof the casing 4 in accessible position to be manually operated forswinging the gate to its several positions. It will be noted that thesaid gate is obliquely arranged with respect to the back of the casingwhen in open position whereby the flame from the when all of the burnersare used.

tion of the range.

With the gate 19 in open position as shown in Fig. 1 it is obvious thatthe natural draft from thechimney or flue will draw-air from the inletend of the heating compartment 8 in the path shown by the arrows. Thisis the course of least resistance, since it takes considerably moredraft to draw air down through the conduit lit and under the ovens tothe flue outlet 13. It is apparent, therefore, that whatever number ofburners are lighted the flame will be directed to the frontcompartmentlO. The heated air will be carried lengthwise of the cookingtop immediately below the front portion thereof, then turned in itscourse at the far end of the compartment 8 and carried in an oppositedirection below the back portion of the cooking top to the flue outlet22. The air therefore, expends its heat upon substantially the entirecooking top and its greatest heat upon the front portion thereof,thereby maintaining the cooking top at a high temperature without theexpenditure of an unnecessary amount of gas. When it is desired to heatthe front of the cooking top in a short time all of the burners would belighted, and after the desired heat is obtained, the burners at the backside of the range would be shut oif. By confining the heated air to thenarrow compartments 10 and 20, the amount of gas used to maintain thecooking top at a given temperature may be reduced to a minimum.

When starting the range in operation the air in the chimney is generallydead and often cold, thereby making it difficult to obtain a naturaldraft to carry on the opera- It is obvious that the shorter the passagebetween the gas burners and the flue outlet, the easier will be thestarting operation. Therefore, by moving the gate to a half openposition, the length of the air passage through the range will bematerially lessened, since the incoming air will pass from the burnersdirectly through the gate opening and to the flue outlet 22. When boththe cooking top and ovens are to be used simultaneously, the gate 19would be closed thereby permitting direct passage of heated air fro-mthe burners to the conduit 14 and under the ovens to the flue outlet 13as was above described.

It is believed that one preferred embodiment of my invention has beendescribed with sufficient particularity to insure an understandingthereof, but it should be obvious that my invention is not circumscribedby the details of construction employed for purposes of illustration,but is capable of considerable modification within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top, a heatingcompartment arranged below the same, gas burners at one end of saidcompartment, a flue outlet at the back of the compartment adjacent tothe burners, a partition extending lengthwise of the compartmentintermediate the sides of the same and terminating short of the ends ofthe compartment, and means for closing the burner end of the compartmentfrom the flue opening by a movable partition extending from the back ofthe compartment to the said first named partition, whereby heated airmay pass from the burners lengthwise of the compartment at the frontside of said first named partition and thence to the back side of saidpartition and to said flue outlet and whereby upon moving the secondnamed partition out of cooperation with the first named partition theheated air may pass from the burners lengthwise of the compartment atboth sides of the first named partition.

2. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top, a heatingcompartment arranged below the same, gas burners extending crosswise ofthe compartment at one end thereof, a flue outlet at the back portion ofthe compartment adjacent to the burner end thereof, a vertical wallextending lengthwise of the compartment intermediate the sides thereofand terminating within the ends of the compartment whereby air may passcrosswise of the compartment at both ends thereof, and means extendingfrom the back of the compartment forwardly to said wall and arranged tocut off direct communication between the burner portion of thecompartment and said flue outlet and the adjoining end of thecompartment at the rear of the vertical wall, said means being operableto permit passage of heated air from the burners lengthwise of thecompartmerit directly to both sides of the vertical wal 3. In a gasrange, the combination of a cooking top, a heating compartment 'arrangedbelow the same, gas burners extending crosswise of the compartment atone end thereof, a flue outlet at the back portion of the compartmentadjacent to the burner end thereof, a vertical wall extending lengthwiseof the compartment intermediate the sides thereof and terminating withinthe ends of the compartment whereby air may pass crosswise of thecompartment at both ends thereof, and a gate or closure pivotallymounted at the back of the compartment at the burner side of the flueoutlet and being arranged to close said outlet and to swing to an openposition wherein to cut off direct passage of air from the burner end ofthe compartment to the compartment at the back of the vertical wall.

4. In a gas range, the combination of a cooking top, a heatingcompartment arranged below the same, one end of the compartmentconstructed to permit heated air to enter the same throughoutsubstantially the entire width thereof, a flue outlet at the backportion of the compartment adjacent to the inlet end thereof, meansdividing the compartment lengthwise into a front and back compartmentand permitting heated air to pass from said entrance end to both of saidcompartments and to communicate between the said two compartments at theopposite end thereof, and means for closing the flue outlet and the backcompartment at the airentrance end thereof from communication with theair entrance of the heating compartment.

- 5. A range comprising a cooking top, a heating compartment disposedimmediately below the same and having an entrance at one end throughoutsubstantially the entire width of the compartment and an outlet at itsopposite end, means for entering heated .air into said compartmentthrough its en- 7 trance end throughout substantially the entire widthof said end or a limited portion thereof whereby said heated air maypass lengthwise of the compartment to the outlet at its opposite end,and means whereby heated air entered through said entrance end may beguided at will in a current passing lengthwise of the compartment alongthe front portion thereof to said opposite end and crosswise in thecompartment to the back portion thereof and then lengthwise of thecompartment at the said back portion and toward the entrance endthereof, and means for discharging the said current of air from the rearportion. of the comparting compartment, a cooking top overlying ment ata point adjacent to the entrance end thereof.

6. In a range, the combination of a heatthe same, means for enteringheated air into the heating compartment at one end thereof acrosssubstantially the entire width of the compartment, and means fordirecting said heated air, at will, either lengthwise of the heatingcompartment throughout its width and to its farther end or lengthwise ofthe compartment to said farther end and confined to a limited portion ofthe width of the compartment and then directly crosswise of thecompartment and then lengthwise ment.

7. A range comprising an oven, a heating compartment above the ovenhaving an entrance across one end thereof and an out let at the rearportion of the compartment in proximity to the said entrance, a conduitextending from the opposite end of the compartment downwardly andbeneath the oven and having a flue outlet, and a cooking top surmountingsaid heating compartment, in combination with means for heating air,means for directing the heated air into the heating compartment acrosssubstantially the entire width of said entrance thereof, whereby saidheated air may pass lengthwise of the heating compartment throughout thewidth thereof and to the conduit at the opposite end thereof and thenceto the said heated air into one end of the heating compartment acrosssubstantially the entire width of said end, the heating compartmenthaving a flue outlet in proximity to a side thereof and the air entranceend,1'a Vertical partitiondividing the heating compartment lengthwiseinto two compartments and terminating at its ends within the ends of thegeneral heating compartment whereby to permit free passage of heated airdirectly between the twocompartments at the ends thereof, and means fordirecting at will the said heated air from said entrance end into one ofsaid compartments and preventing I direct passage to the othercompartment and the flue outlet, whereby said heated air will passlengthwise of the compartment into which it has been directed, to itsopposite end, crosswise of the general heating compartment to the othercompartment, and thence lengthwise thereof to the flue outlet.

MICHAEL J. GREEN. itnesses:

JOHN F. MOCANNA, DELLA ATKINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

